Cleaners paid more than childcare workers

QUALIFIED childcare workers are pushing for pay parity with primary school teachers after it was revealed they earn $18.58 an hour - almost $3 less than the centre cleaners.

Cleaners earn an average $21.05 an hour, leading childcare bodies to call on the government yesterday for $1.4 billion to complete the reform of the nation's early education and care system.

United Voice assistant national secretary Sue Lines said the industry was losing more than 180 childcare workers over pay."It's just not enough to pay the bills," she said. "Even though educators are committed to the job, they can't afford to stay and so they are leaving the sector completely."

The childcare union was asking for a minimum $26 an hour for qualified workers.

"That's a good start to pay for quality educators," Ms Lines said. "But parents can't afford to pay ... we want the government to get down and talk about funding a package for professional wages."

Independent Education Union general secretary John Quessy said early childhood carers with the same qualifications as primary teachers earn up to 20 per cent less.

"If early childhood teachers become a rare breed, so does a quality education for our youngest children," he said.

Early Childhood Australia chief executive Sam Page said current entry-level wages were not enough to survive on.

"The people looking after our children really should be paid better than the people who clean the centres," she said.

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